


Refulgence

by Donnieambie_Dawn, Dragon_of_Dreams



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: A Certain Seagull, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Featuring Art, Gen, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:13:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23106772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donnieambie_Dawn/pseuds/Donnieambie_Dawn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_of_Dreams/pseuds/Dragon_of_Dreams
Summary: Wind wishes he could return home. The landlocked and foreign landscape of Hyrule was nothing like his Outset Island, with its soft sands and smiling people. Most of all, he misses his Island's people.And, to an extent, so does Legend.
Relationships: Legend & Hyrule & Warriors (Linked Universe), Legend & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79





	Refulgence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [macarooni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/macarooni/gifts).



> The collab is for Cynn in the LU Discord server.
> 
> \----
> 
> Hello! Dragon here. This collab was intended for the Linked Universe Discord's birthday week. However, I suffered from health issues through most of the collab and had to step down. There will be a point where the writing starts to be exclusively Dawn's aside from a few minor edits. With this point in mind I hope you'll still enjoy this collab regardless of the difficulties we faced.
> 
> The art was done by the wonderful Galaxicon.

His brothers relaxing at the camp in the evening reminded him of home. But it wasn’t home. The hard dirt under him would never replace the soft sands of the shores of his home island, even if they pricked his feet. The scent of the forest could never replace the salty breeze that entered through his lungs, even if it was too much at times. The lake nearby could never replace the oceans he called his home, even if they burned him.

Although Outset never offered much for adventure—as it happened beyond in the Great Sea and the grounded landmass that was Hyrule—it offered one thing: his family. Wind glanced at the others bearing his real name, all connected somehow through spirit. All whom he now called brothers.

Almost absentmindedly, he tried to sift his hands through the sure ground, as if the foreign terra would give way to a more familiar sensation if he pried hard enough. His short, cracked nails buried themselves among the fire-ash and gritty pebbles, rough and course and distant.  
  
He was all alone here. All alone without his family, drifting along the slick obscurity of the ever darkened deep. He was stuck here, and they were free there, without him. He wondered if Aryll celebrated her birthday without him. He wondered if Tetra bought that upgrade she so desperately wanted for _The Lioness_. He wondered if this is what Linebeck meant when he commented: “The most sure seasickness is that of missin’ the sea”—though in his heart he knows that the death of Jolene had spurred those short-lived words.

He wondered if his grandma was dead too. ****

He lifted himself from the ground and dusted off the dirt clinging into his orange pants, only to further smear across it. With a frustrated sigh he marched through the camp, ignoring the concerned stares and calls of his nickname. A grasp as hard as iron turned him to stone, draining him of any energy to fight. Wind turned around, eyes landing on the feet belonging to Time, unable to meet his face.

“Wind.” Time lowered to one knee. “Look at me. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine, leave me alone.”

Was what he wanted to say.

But his lethargic lips refused to move in conjunction with his anguished mind, and what he ended up saying was a wispy: “Wrong… alone…”

  
Time shifted from one knee to the other, his heavy armor an obvious strain on his knees. Time was older, and Wind had first-hand experience with caring for the newly elderly. The slow degradation of their cartilage and bones, as they slowly wear themselves down. As they slowly run out of time.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Wind wanted so despairingly to shake his head no, to run into the forest alone on a whim and return only when the courage returned to his soul and his family was deracinated from his mind. But Time, being the inscrutable enigma he was, gazed into his harrowed eyes and gave him no choice, as he was forcibly lifted off his feet, and into Time’s lap.

Wind tensed as he was shifted abruptly between Time’s knees—the man himself swaying back and forth in an attempt to rock his breastplates up and over his shoulders. After a scruple, the bulk collapsed to the ground in an uneven heap, and Wind was guided to relax on the hero’s midriff. Time weaved a calming hand through Wind’s long locks. “Speak your mind.”

“I—” A wave of emotions boiled within him, bubbling up into an explosion. “I miss them!” Wind cried. “I just miss them! I miss my sister and Grandma and-and everyone!”

Time continued soothing him, tending to his hair just like Grandma used to do when he was little. His eyes watered at the memory, darkened with the thoughts of not being able to see her again, fragile as she was when he first left Outset to save Aryll. He couldn’t imagine her going through that all over again...

“I just want to go home,” Wind finally said.

“You’re lucky.”

Wind lifted his head following the gasps of others towards the owner of the bitter voice. Through the blur Wind saw only the blue hat at the back of Legend’s head, his arms crossed as he looked away into the distance, far from Wind.

“Wh-what did you say?”

“I _said,”_ Legend swung his head to face him, eyes narrowed and his voice low and harsh. “You’re lucky. You’re lucky you have a family to go back to.”

The venom in Legend’s voice burned through Wind’s heart. Before Wind could register his words Legend had long disappeared. All that remained were voices calling his name in the wind.

* * *

Legend stormed through the forest, overpowering thick brambles and flora with tense strides. Wind’s choking sobs grew further and further from his mind as he put distance between them, though he could still hear Wind’s cries. The cries of a lonely boy forced away from homely comfort into the cruel torrents. He could still hear _himself_.

“AAGHHH!” He screamed. He screamed. He screamed! Why couldn't Wind just _fucking, “STAY QUIET!_ _SHUT UP!_ ” He high kicked, and leaves cascaded down in tandem with vicious words, hot and rasping in the stern of his throat.

He wasn’t just going to _sit there_ when that ingenious, _un-fucking-grateful boy_ complained about missing his community. A community of people that were still alive, and safe from drudgery on their own secluded _island_ , and very much so _fucking REAL!_

Sullen and exhausted, Legend fell to his knees—his fervently fortified walls deluged in tears.

“Shut…” He hiccuped, drawing in the salty wetness of his eyes into his breath. “Shut-up… shut up…”

_Shut up… just… shut up…_

Between his sobs and his wailing mind he heard yells getting louder and louder, pounding the ache in his head into a migraine. Legend rushed to his feet, stumbling with dizziness and vertigo impeding his vision as he tried to run away. To run away from the heartache that was all too real.

Then he started to fall.

“Legend!”

Legend braced himself to face the ground, only to be stopped inches from meeting such a fate. He was pulled into the arms of his savior, recognizing the clasps of metal over his gauntlets and the blue covering the hands: _Warriors_.

“Let—let me go!” Legend yelled, flailing against the arms that held him tight. “I said _LET ME GO!”_

A flash of brown and green met the corner of his eye. There stood Hyrule, eyes locked with his. The traveler approached him, his arm extending as if reaching out to a wounded animal.

Wounded animal he was! Legend kept fighting, clawing through leather and skin and kicking off but the captain refused to budge.

“Legend. _Please_.”

“I’m telling you! Just _LET ME BE!”_

Warriors let him go only for Legend to crash into the storm’s arms.

“Legend. Legend, buddy, look at me.” 

Paralyzed. He was paralyzed. Lightning feathers etched along his skin and splintered his ribs, making every breath painful. Or maybe it was the suffocating depths that made drawing breaths nearly impossible.

“Link, breathe.”

His hand was placed somewhere firm and warm, and almost subconsciously he began to synchronize his uneven breaths with the slow rises and falls of the other person’s.

The coldness of the ocean was suddenly eradicated as he was pulled into warmth. Steady circles were rubbed into his back, and the lightning feathers were rubbed away—once again faded scars on his backside. 

“In for four. Out for four.” 

“That’s it, slowly now.”

“It’s gonna be okay.”

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out._

Legend held onto the chest, grasping at the heartbeat that his own started to echo. “Please,” he cried. “Don’t leave me.”

Resounding shhh’s and “We won’t”s reached through his ears, but his heart still sought the comfort of another’s. Legend slowly lifted his head, blinking furiously as—in any second—everything would be gone.

“Link?”

 _Hyrule._ The image of his successor remained firm no matter how many times he blinked, still glancing at him with a frowning face and worried eyes. Not once did said image flicker through his blinks.

“It’s going to be okay. We’re here.”

_We’re here._

Legend felt the arms on his back guiding him, lowering him to the ground as his legs lost all their foundation. He firmly opened his eyes one last time, glancing at Hyrule and then Warriors kneeling at his sides, neither of them disappearing from his vision.

“Keep breathing. You’re doing great, Link.”

 _Are you…_ Legend gulped at the weight of the question, almost choking at the mere thought. He forced himself to blurt out every word, his voice hoarse:

_“Are you real?”  
_

For a split second, the rubbing stopped and the warmth was pulled from Legend’s form—leaving him alone in an endless ocean, a castaway on an island that was about as real as his current situation.

Then he was pulled in tightly, and it all came crashing down again.

“We’re real.” 

The fabric around his arms tightened uncomfortably around his waist, and his hair splayed out in a stringy fan, but it didn’t matter. It made the situation all the more grounded as he looked up to meet Hyrule’s kind hazel eyes, alight with worry and affection. 

Warriors pulled himself away, leaving his right side void of comfort for a few brief seconds, before something warm and plush was funneled over his head. “It's going to be okay, we’re here for you.”

Then Legend woke up from his stupor, and had the cognition to realize that he just had an intense anxiety attack over _someone else’s pain_ , in front of his two most trusted cohorts.

“I’m sorry.” Legend met both of their eyes, and tried to express sincerity the best he could. “I’m so, _so sorry_."

“Shhh…” Hands—he couldn’t tell whom they belonged to under the lens of tears—came to cup his face, caressing him softly.  
  
“Bambino, don’t be.”

And then the dam broke, flooding the reservoir of his soul with all the love and affection he had lost over years of emotional drought. Legend reached to the hands cupping his face and squeezed them tight, blinking his tears away.

“I—”

“Shhh…”

The fingers ran through his face, setting aside the tears. Legend shut his eyes, taking a few moments to feel the finger stroking against his face.

“Are you feeling any better, Bambino?”

He breathed. “Yes. Thank you.”

“You ready to talk?” 

Legend ignored the sour voice in his head that wanted to bite back at Warriors's pitiful tone. He wasn’t going to do that, not today at least. 

“Yeah—yeah, I’m… I'm okay now. I just—” 

He hesitated. Did he want to tell? Did they even care?

No. no, he would tell them. Today, if only for an hour, the walls would come down.

“I just, freaked out, that's all.”

“Freaked out?” Warriors repeated.

Hyrule promptly backhanded him. “Go on.”

And Legend took in another shaky breath. “Just—well… Wind misses his family, but at least…” He struggled to get the words out, biting his tongue as if speaking these words would change their perception of him forever. “At least he _has_ a family to miss!”

There! He said it! Now Warriors _and_ Hyrule know just how much of a selfish, good for nothing, unempathetic—

“I get it.”

What?

Hyrule gripped his hands tighter, starting directly into Legend’s eyes— _Link’s_ eyes. 

“I’ve. I’ve never known my real family. Growing up in the wastelands was always a struggle. I was… I was out of my home—at nine.”

Warriors took the time to speak up, drawing himself closer to Legend’s side and view. “That’s awful, Hyrule.”

“No, no. It’s fine. I—uh. I never really _cared_ , y’know? It was just how I lived. For as long as I could remember, life had been about surviving. Dawn of the next day, y’know?”

Legend hunched his back, fully relaxed as he allowed the spotlight to shift off himself—completely content in listening.

“I left my family for the war.” Warriors added in a slow drawl. “I never got drafted, since I was uh… _in college_ , but I decided to join anyway. Wanted some action! So I just… left. I—they…” He paused, mouth agape and eyes skyward.

“I left them. A little sister and baby brother—my mom is a single parent, and I just _left_. They’re probably struggling without my help in the bakery, and the worst thing about it is that—” 

He choked, and Legend found himself placing a hand on _his_ shoulder. 

“I never even said goodbye.”

The clearing was quiet for a bit, the somberness sinking in as they all contemplated their lives.

Legend met Warriors’s eyes. 

“I never got to either.”

_Uncle! Please! Don’t leave me!_

_Uncle… I can’t afford to lose you. Not again!_

Legend shut his eyes. He took another shaky breath before he started to explain. “I had an uncle,” he said. “He’s the one who raised me. He’s been my father figure for much of my life. Warriors I--” Legend choked. “I lost him not once. But _twice._ Both times were so sudden that I…

“I never forgave myself.”

A hand squeezed his. Opening his eyes, Legend met Warriors once more. “But that’s not just it,” he continued. “Th-the reason I freaked out… Th-the reason why I snapped about Wind… I-is because I lost an entire island. An-and I—”

“Don’t speak anymore,” Hyrule whispered. “We don’t need you getting worked up again.”

Legend closed his mouth. All they did now was embrace the comforting silence, filled with the breaths of people Legend knew were _real and alive_. He held onto their sides, grasping at the rising and falling chests of his coh— _brothers._

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t. Not while we’re here.”

* * *

Wind was coddled by Time softly, a deep reverberation from the back of his throat dispelling calming vibrations through his torso and into his mind. Red eyes gave way to salty tear channels that crusted with snot as they ran down his face—though his fit had died long ago.  
  
Sitting there in Time’s lap, shielded from the world in the Hero of Time’s arms, Wind was fully relaxed… and utterly exhausted.

Time brushed a soft curl away from Wind’s eyes, and Wind blew upwards to disturb it again.  
  
“Time?” 

“Yes?” Time whispered in return, voice smooth like Lon Lon milk, with a hint of weariness from his days of adventure. Wind wanted to ask, “Tell me another story from the water temple?” or “What happened after you defeated Ganondorf, again?” but instead an ugly whine perforated his maw, and he griped: “When’s dinnnneeerrrr?” 

Time gave off a hearty chuckle, and in the distance Wind could hear a bout of shouting. 

“I’m sorry, okay?! I didn’t _mean_ to make dubious food, sometimes it just _happens_ for reasons I-know-not!”

Despite himself, Wind giggled too. “Sorry Wild! I looove you!”

“Yeah, yeah. Dinner’s still going to be about 45 minutes. Sorry.”

“I take it back, then.”

Time ruffled Wind’s hair, causing it to flow over his scalp and into his eyes. He should really think about cutting it. 

“Want to do something to pass the time?” Time asked him with a kind smile, and in his eye Wind could see a perfect image of himself.  
  
“I wanna cut my hair.”

Time’s hand stopped abruptly, and for a second Wind was afraid that he had committed some sort of social faux pas. Maybe hair cutting was a religious thing? Or maybe hair length was a sign of prestige or honor, and Wind was asking to be stripped of his title of hero? Oh Hylia, oh no this is awf—

“Yeah, sure. I could do it, but I only know one style.”

“That's okay.” Wind responded automatically as he was shifted out of Time’s lap. The man himself guided Wind to a small fallen log with charred and splintered ends. “Sit here. I think I've left my knife in my bag.”

Time sauntered away, taking his sweet time as Wind was left in an anxious rut. Did he want to cut his hair? Why was he getting so worked up over a stupid haircut! Grandma used to cut his hair all the ti—  
  
Oh.  
  
Time came back with a short-blade as long as his forearm and as bright as a fairy in the dead of night. Whenever he would swing his arm, the weapon would leave trails of neon blue that bundled up in the air, and dissipated in the breeze.  
  
“I don’t know where my knife went, though Wild did look awfully guilty when he offered me _this one_.” He chortled, flipping the knife in the air. Immediately the blade retreated with a metallic tick, and when the ancient handle met Time’s palm again it asserted itself in a bright teal flash.

“Oh I do like this one…”

All six, intimidating feet of Time loomed over him as he fidgeted with the neon blade and its moving parts. From the back of him, the sun fled, and dark shadows were cast over the ground, interrupted only by the fairy-like reflection of the weapon.

Wind fidgeted in place, twiddling his thumbs and rocking side to side in erratic triplets. “Soooo…” he started, only to stop when Time sat next to him—the added weight shifting his balance on the groaning log.  
  
“I suppose you would want me to start with your bangs?” 

“Oh! NO!” He protested firmly, before dropping the tone. “They make me look stupid.”  
  
Time raised a free hand and brushed his long, sun-blond bangs from his forehead. Wind bit his tongue. “I only know one style, remember?”

“Oh, right.”

Slowly, as if coming to terms with his fate, he spoke, “I guess it’s… okay.”

“You sure, bud?”

_Bud?_

“Yeah. Yeah! I'm sure!” Wind cheered himself on, despite a growing feeling of unease and dread. He pumped his fist up and Time fist-bumped him—the dread slowly fading into obscurity.

And with that, Time assumed his position, keeping Wind’s head angled down at his lap. He felt a tug at the front of his scalp, and watched strands of lush yellow fall as the tension receded.

“When I was on my first adventure…” Time stopped taking for a minute, presumably to concentrate on his handiwork, but Time was so old that Wind suspected that he may have just—forgotten he had ever been talking. But then, with a mumble and a sigh, Time started to talk again. “I was all alone. And time travel worked to de-age the body, so I never needed a haircut.”

Wind stopped fidgeting, content to laze and listen to Time’s tale. In the distance, he could see the camp’s population densen as the forests darkened and dinner cooled.

“So when I stopped time traveling, I didn’t know what to do with my hair! Back at the forest, Saria always helped me with my looks, but…”

“You can never go back?” Wind asked, innocently.

“Not really, no.” Time gave a small crescent moon of a smile, and pushed Wind’s head down again, continuing his work.  
  
“So you know how I got to live full-time with Malon, so I won’t share that story again, but eventually my hair grew too long for ranch-work.”

Time ceased cutting, and Wind looked up to catch a glimpse of Time, who was staring outward at the treeline blissfully. 

“And Talon caught me one day! It was early in the morning and I was in charge of milking the cows. And he caught me half blind, twirled me around and handed me a straight-back. And he said, “Son, if you’re gonna to tend to this ranch, you’ve got to be able to see what yer tendin’ to.” He made me cut my hair right there in that barn, and I've been doing it for myself ever since.”

The pressure faded from his scalp, and Wind opened his eyes (when did he close them?) to witness Time hand him a silver mirror. “Take a look, bud.”  
  
Wind peered into the looking glass—and a young Hero of Time peered back.

“I… you…this—”

“Is it okay? Are you alright with it? Did I cut the bangs too short again? Malon alwa—”  
  
“No! No! It’s amazing!” Wind tossed the mirror aside and tackled Time around his waist. “Thank you! It really means a lot to me…”

“Wind… crushing… organs…”

“Oh! Right, sorry.”

“Soups on, everyone! Come and get your fill!”

Wild walked up to them, balancing five oak bowls full of warm stew—one on each arm, one in each hand, and one atop his head, wearing a ruby-studded circlet. Slowly, as to not disturb his meticulous balancing act, he reached out and handed them their meals. The stew was a mouth watering mix of ram and carrot and Wind didn’t care what else, steam billowing up in slow rivulets as they condensed across his eager face. 

“Spoon?” Wind asked, lifting his face from the bowl to breathe.  
  
Wild blanched. “Uhhh….”

That was okay. Wind lifted the bowl to his lips and started to chug the broth, picking out bits of meat and greens to snack on as he drank. Then he put his bowl down, and paused at the scene before him. 

“Hey Wild? You’ve got the food?” Warriors asked, supporting the head and tail end of a very unconscious Legend. Immediately the camp flew into a frenzy. 

“What happened?”

“Is he okay?”

“Where are the monsters?”

“What h—”

“SHHHH!” Hyrule hissed. “He’s just asleep, keep yourselves quiet!”

In his rest, Legend shifted and mumbled something to himself, unintelligible, but adorable in every way.

Wild offered them bowls of stew, but they refused politely, insisting that they get to bed immediately. When asked about watch, Hyrule responded that he would take second and Warriors would take third and it would be all good as long as they weren’t disturbed otherwise.

That was odd. Wind thought absentmindedly as Wild poured Warrior's bowl into his.

Across the camp he could see them settle, the fire highlighting their faces a pleasant gold as Hyrule whispered in Warriors’s ear, and Warriors did the same. Wind set his bowl aside, sloshing chunks of food down and over his boots, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. See, there was one thing that separated him from most of the other heroes, one basic necessity for pirates on the Great Sea. 

Stealth.

Slowly as he could, Wind got up and out of sight, lingering on the edge of the treeline for a simple second before nose diving under the nearest bush. Making himself one with the foliage and dragging himself along the forest floor, Wind stopped at Hyrule’s back, and listened in on their conversation.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Hyrule asked.

The captain had his back straightened but his head tilted towards the ground. Wind couldn’t make out where his eyes landed--whether it was towards the sleeping Legend or anywhere else in the camp.

“I’m not sure.” Warriors sighed. “It’s not his fault, you know.”

Wind gingerly shifted his position, angling himself where he could meet enough of the other’s profile. Golden embers reflected in his eye as Hyrule glared at the older man.

“I wouldn't dare think it.”

“Good. Wind’s a nice kid. Doesn't deserve all—all _this_ happening to him. Neither does Legend, but…” 

Warriors trailed off, and Wind strained to hear the next sentence, intent on harboring every secret on himself. Gossip was powerful, he should know as a part-time criminal, and he wasn’t liking the tone the sentence was taking. 

“I feel worse for Wind, being younger and all, just a _child._ It must be so hard to deal with that kind of stress.”

Wind ignored the way his throat tightened, how his heart sunk low in his chest and his breathing shallowed. Listen. All he had to do was listen, and learn. Sometimes it was better to be underestimated, he should know. If Ganondorf hadn’t decided he wasn’t worth the trouble… Wind shivered against a faux chill, not daring to think it further.

“But Legend, I can’t even imagine how he feels… Imagine losing your _betrothed_ like that…”

“Imagine finding out she wasn’t even real. What a—forgive my choice of words, _nightmare_.”

“All is forgiven, Hyrule…” 

Wind watched as Warriors leaned towards his bag, dropping down onto the floor in a slow lurch. “I’m exhausted.”

“Me too.” Hyrule leaned back across the log that supported him, coming dangerously close to Wind’s hiding spot. If Hyrule’s eyes were open, he would be able to pick his bright attire out from the drab forest environment in a second. Oh how he _wished_ he were on his island. 

“But. Uh… I don’t think I can bring myself to sleep.” 

Hyrule swayed, rolling his head up as he slowly stretched, distancing himself from Wind once more. “Me neither. Imagine, a whole island—your friends and family, _gone_ just like that.”

“Yeah, Hyrule.”

“And you’ll never get any closure either… They weren't even real and yet they—”

“I _get it_ , Hyrule. Can we talk about something else?”

Silence filled the air like a thick jelly, and breathing was a slightly more vigorous activity in the tenseness of the air.

“Yeah. Yeah, Sorry, Warriors.”

And with that, the silence resumed. Using the snapping of small branches on the fire to cover his shuffling, Wind retreated from whence he came. 

* * *

The next morning, Wind woke up to the discomfort of sediment in his bedroll and crust at his eyes. Sleeping outside, it wasn’t unusual to wake up to some kind of malaise, whether it be a sore back or a creeping feeling of unease and tiredness— but today Wind woke up to something _more_. 

Tossing in his bedroll to a less sandy side and rubbing the crystals from his eyes, Wind prepared to doze right back off, not even daring to open his eyes and check for daylight. It didn’t seem like anyone was up anyways, so why should he bother? 

Then the camp started to rally, and Wind was up and awake with the first few words.

“Agh! Is that _seagull shit_?!”

"HOOOOMMMEE!!” 

Wind threw off his sheets and ran out to shore, relishing in the feel of the fresh sands and tidal breeze. Crabs scattered to the shelter of the sea as he chased them, kicking up fine mists of dry sand and heavy puddles of wet. 

In the distance, straw hut houses were lit, their people up and about the village of Outset.

Outset…

It’s been so long, and at this point, he didn’t even know what to think. How many pigs were born this summer? Did Aryll crash his ship in the harbor again? 

Was Aryll even the same?

Was… Grandma okay?

With a newfound sense of energy, Wind charged at the house farthest to the forest, where the seagull grass stalks always grew high and wild, and the door hung slightly ajar from years of use. 

“GRANDMAA!”

He hurled himself up the stairs, and didn’t stop to brace himself before the door was flown open on its hinges, and the wood splintered on the knob.  
  
He was half expecting Aryll to fling herself towards him in one of her signature hugs, and half-expecting Grandma to chastise him for abusing the door again, but…

The house was empty.

But… the sun wasn’t even up yet… where did they… where...

“Wind! Wind! Don’t run off like that!”

Legend ground to a halt in the sandy dirt below the steps, pegasus boots causing sand to spray up and billow into the lazy, summertime air. 

“You’re lucky I took Warriors’s watch! No one else would be able to catch up to you in time.”

“They’re all gone.” 

“What?”

Wind sunk down for a second, knees halfway to buckling before Legend caught him. 

“They’re all gone. They’re gone…. Gone….”

“What’s the matter? Speak to me.”

Wind raised a shaky hand, and pushed Legend away, standing up to his full height. “I—they. They’re not…”  
  
“Breathe, sailor, breathe.” Grabbing his wrist, Legend put Wind’s hand on his chest, and started to even out his breathing. “In for four. Out for four.”

Wind closed his eyes and stilled for a minute, his breathing evening out. “Legend, I’m fine. They’re probably not here because it's fishing season. Aryll is probably out at her lookout and Grandma is at Orca’s and I’m _overreacting_.”

“It’s okay to be worried… about the people you care about.”

Wind gave no verbal reply, nodding his head and pulling his hands from Legend’s chest.

“It’s just, been a long time, that's all.” 

“You’re okay?”

“I’m okay.”

Wind didn't remember who started the hug, but Legend was the one who naturally ended it. They made eye contact, and for a second Wind could see the Legend inside the shell through his soft smile. 

“Alrighty, let's go find them then.” Legend offered, holding out his hand for Wind to take.

“Didn’t take you as the family type.”

Legend grimaced, and Wind mentally chastised himself. From Legend’s outburst yesterday to now, why does he have to go and fuck it all up?

Wind opened his mouth to apologize, but—

“It’s okay. Drop it, let's just find your family.” 

“Right.”

Legend waited for Wind to catch up to him, and they took off at a moderate pace, with Wind taking the lead. They were headed towards the harbor, alive and thriving with colorful merchant ships and stalls. In the densely packed crowd, people weaved to and fro with baskets on their hips and heads, dispersing out to homes up the cliff sides that towered above them. 

Overhead, seagulls circled in lazy flocks, singing harmony-less morning songs to the early risers of Outset.

“Link!”

“Link?”

“Is that really Link?”

They got closer, and suddenly people began to swarm them—one girl in particular. Wind stepped up, bashful and cautious.

“Good morning Miss Sue-Belle.”

Sue Belle frowned, and Wind gulped. 

“Uh, lovely fishing season we’re having?”

It was at this moment that Wind realized that it was deathly silent, villagers from all over giving him that stagnant, disappointed stare. Then, there was a cry.

“LIIIIIIINNNNNKKK!”

Wind was on his back, sand pushed into his tunic as a heavy weight wrapped himself around his waist. “Where were you?!” 

“A-Aryll, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He wrapped his arms around her and brought himself up to a sitting position. “Everyone! I’m sorry!”

Looking around, he saw the tearful and _relieved_ faces of the villagers—not disappointed, not angry. “I was… dragged away, on an adventure with the other heroes of legend! Here, I’ll show you! I can…” He looked around, whipping his hair wildly as he tried to spot the splash of royal red in the crowd. “Legend?”

“Who’s Legend?” Aryll looked up at him from the crook of his arm. She had gotten taller while he was gone. Oh how embarrassing it would be if she somehow grew taller than him. 

“Legend is a hero, and a good friend of mine. He’s probably gone back to camp to alert Time now that he knows I’m safe.” He lied to everyone. Though Legend may be the caring type, he was not one to show it. For a second he contemplated finding him, but then Aryll hugged him tight, and started talking about grandma and her new seagull friend, and Wind didn’t want to leave. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Legend was running. He didn’t care where he was going, as long as it was away from that crowd. He hated crowds, he hated islands, he hated _this_. 

Wind _found_ his family, so his job was _done._ Why should he stay any longer? Stupid fucking island...

One talk wasn’t going to stop his feelings from pouring out. It wasn’t going to stop the incessant memories and the pain of it all.  
  
Somewhere high, he’d love to be somewhere high. Somewhere off this godforsaken island. Somewhere far, _far_ away from the sea. Towards the western skies, a large towering observation post made itself known ,casting bold shadows over the waters towards the bridge he was currently on. 

His boots hit soft, sinking sand, and he struggled to run the short distance up to the firm grass—to the earth street—to the dock—and to the lookout.

It was only a short climb to the top of the lookout, and when he was safely hidden from the town among the canvas canopy, he stopped to relax. 

The sea… vast and endless, and so dark in the dim morning light. He felt almost serene, watching the waves crash against each other in a gentle lull.

He could almost imagine them rising higher, as the waves flash with the glare of electricity and the rain pounds on and the wind whips his hair against his red, burnt neck and the sky grows darker and the—

A seagull landed on his head, and started to screech.

“Aaa! Get off me you sea-rat! I don’t have any food for you! Go bother someone in the harbor!” 

It screeched louder, but complied with Legend’s request, hopping off his head to sit beside him.

They sat there like that for a while, listening to the sounds of the newly awakened town, watching the waves crash and the other seagulls fly…

“Why don’t you go fly with your other seagull friends, huh?” He gently shoved the bird away from him, but it hopped right back up to his side. “Come on now, you’ve got better things to do than just watch me mope.”

The seagull tilted its head at him.

“Go on… shoo. Be _free_.”

And the seagull took off. 

Legend leaned back on the wooden post, slowly sinking down into a lying position. Under the protection of the canvas, he couldn’t see that stormy sky anymore, but just to be sure, he closed his eyes and rested.

He could almost feel his hair fan out around him, as the waves crashed upon his still form. His skin was wet, and his muscles ached from fighting the inevitable for so long. Lightning danced between his fingertips, as the feathers ran down his back and skull. Seagull song whirled through the air, as someone crouched down next to him, their hand on his chest.

_**SQUAWK!**_

“Aa! What the hell?!” 

The fucking seagull was back, this time with something in it’s beak. It screeched again, dropping the item on his face, before flying back to a rail, leaving Legend flailing with a mouthful of feathers. 

He sat up straight, dusting off downy feathers and sand particles from his tunic and hair. Slowly, he reached for the fallen object.

“...damn bird… The hell is this anyway—”

“And this is the lookout!!” 

A young girl, _Wind’s sister_ , climbed up and over the ladder. She bent down, and helped Wind get up and onto the boards. Then came Warriors, and Hyrule, and an armorless Time. He stepped into the shade, and the tower gave a low creak.

“What? What are you guys doing here?” Legend exclaimed, clutching the _hibiscus flower_ in a protective, yet delicate hold. Time walked forward, and below them the crack of wood was heard. “And is it safe for us all to be up here?” 

“I’m sure it’s fine!” The child declared confidently, walking freely on the wood without protest. Suddenly she stopped and smiled, rushing up to where the seagull was perched. 

“MARIN!” 

The girl extended her arm and the seagull on the rail flew over to her, resting in the crook of her elbow. She then turned to Legend. “Wow! She gave you a present! She only does that to the people she likes.” She moved “Marin” to the ground, and she hopped up and into his lap. 

“See? She loves you!” 

The seagull, named… Marin, chirped from where she sat on his lap. At first it was tuneless screeching that mangled the name of music, but gradually, pitch came forth and revealed the tri-tone song, lost to all but a few. 

_The Ballad of the Wind Fish…_

Legend unclipped his ocarina from his belt, drawing it up to his lips with bated breath. He waited until she finished the line, the harmony resolving itself, before he joined in.

Notes rose and fell and danced along the wind, and out of the corner of his eye he could see his comrades sit along the lookout’s edges. But his eyes were trained on the seagull, on what could potentially be… _her_. 

Instead of the sharp, shrill cries of a regular seagull, a calming whistling tune came forth from the bird’s beak—harmonizing and somberly. For a while it was only them on the lookout, together in their timbre, above the ocean waves. If he closed his eyes he could almost imagine himself above the Great Southern Sea of Koholint in all its illustrious and boundless glory. But if he shut his eyes, he would miss this opportunity forever. 

Then a sharp, but sweet melodic tone flitted through, and their two-tone harmony was lifted to three. 

“Sleepers Waakke~ dreams will faaddde~ although we cling faasst~”

Hyrule came into view, coming to stand besides Wind’s Sister, by the rail. Not faltering on his notes, he came to sit across from them, wearing a weary smile on his face. 

“Was it reaal~ What we saaaaw~ I believe~” 

If Legend wasn’t so jaded, he would have dropped his ocarina from the shock alone. However, years of muscle memory took priority over his playing, and so he was allowed to think. How did Hyrule know the Ballad of the Wind Fish?

Hyrule, barely pausing for breath, beckoned for someone outside of his field of vision. Suddenly, a baritone hum resounded out, and their trio became a quartet.

“Lost in dreeeamms~ We sleep oonn~ Tossing and tuurrrrniiinngg~” Warriors added, coming to sit right next to Hyrule, barely under the shade.

A tenor… and Wind made the quintet.

“Stay with mee~ By my siiidee~ Never leeeavee~”

All together, in one _almost_ pitch perfect harmony, they sang.

“What if the worst comes? If someday that sweet reverie ends, we too our memories, for reall~”

“Fade us byyyyyyyy!!!” The girl’s fluffy soprano resonated outwards, and the note lingered for one long second as they prepared for the somber resolution.

“Stay with me, by the sea, we’ll watch the waves craassshh~”

“Hold my hand~”

“Think of meee~”

“And I’ll fly~”

Legend put down his ocarina to sing the last note, but the instrument could still be heard as Time improvised the best he could. After a few more beats, the song died off, and Legend was ready to get some answers. 

He drew Marin up and closer to his chest. “How do you know that song?”

“Lullaby of Legend?” Wind asked. “It’s been around for centuries.”

“Link says that Mamma used to sing it to me when I was little! But i don’t remember it…”

“Lullaby of Legend?” Warriors reeled back, as if some great offense was cast upon him. “That’s the Ballad of the Wind Fish, by Marin of Koholint! She was—is… one of my friends, from the war.”

“You were friends with Marin?!” Legend exclaimed in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. You know my story… worlds colliding and what-not.”

“Nonono, step back.” Hyrule stepped in between the two, holding his hands up in defiance. “Ballad of the Wind Fish? Isn’t that song the Ballad of Remembrance?”

“No, Warriors has it right, it’s the Ballad of the Wind Fish. And back to Marin.” Legend looked to Warriors, atmosphere shifting as his gaze hardened. “How did you meet her? How did you _find_ her? Are there others? Where is—” 

Warriors put a hand over his mouth, forcibly silencing him. “No, I… I haven’t seen any other islanders. But Marin talked about them a lot. Talked about the dream. Talked about _her dream_. Sang songs. _Ruthless_ on the battlefield, and with a bell of all things! No wonder she woke the Wind Fish herself! She’s a courageous gal!

“What?” 

Legend connected the dots in his head, a spiral of concepts he couldn’t control. From Warriors to the portals to their lands…

“Uh, Legend?”

To Malon and Beedle and Impa…

“Mr. Legend? Are you okay?”

“Legs? Buddy, talk to us…”

To Zelda and Ganon and himself, of all people…

Legend looked down at the bird in his arms.

“You’re not _my_ Marin.”

They crowded around him in a weak circle of reassurance and comfort and _pity_. The bird, not Marin, never Marin, gave a mindless, animalistic chirp. Reluctantly, he lifted it from his lap and set it on the ground, where it flew off into the rising sun, away from him once more. 

  
  



End file.
